NRI devotees take airlines to new high

TNNDec 12, 2006, 06.20pm IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the hill shrine of Sabarimala in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district attracting more devotees each year, including an increasing number from abroad, it is not just the Travancore Devaswom Board that is feeling financially blessed.

The airline sector is now gaining the benefits of a significant number of pilgrims taking the aerial route on their pilgrimage to Kochi, or Thiruvananthapuram, the nearest airports to Sabarimala.

Airline officials say there is now a significant number of NRIs who are making the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, particularly from east Asia, most of who fly into Chennai on their way to Kerala.

Travel agency sources say these pilgrims are mainly from countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, boosting the revenues of carriers operating in these sectors during the Sabarimala pilgrim season, from November to January.

Malaysian Airlines area manager Tajul Kamat told ET that a significant number of passengers were traveling Kuala Lumpur-Chennai and then taking domestic flights into Kerala, while some were heading for Tirupati.

"Our Kuala Lumpur-Chennai flights are going full these days and it is attributed to the school holiday time in Malaysia and the pilgrims flying into India", Mr Kamat said.

He said a similar rise in traffic was being witnessed in the Singapore-Chennai sector, adding that all airlines in that sector were benefited by the pilgrim traffic.

According to Air India officials here, Sri Lankan pilgrims to Sabarimala were landing here from Colombo, on their way to Pathanamthitta.

Travel industry sources say that a strong growth in the number of devotees who take flights into Kerala on their pilgrimage, could well make a pitch for an airport in Pathanamthitta, a district that is home to a substantial number of NRIs from the state.

With three international airports at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, the state cabinet has already given the nod for another international airport in Kannur.